ESMA Shifts Focus from Rulemaking to Crypto Oversight

European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Chair Verena Ross has announced that the regulator's priorities have shifted from rulemaking to supervision and convergence under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

The shift in focus is aimed at ensuring consistent monitoring across national supervisors, particularly around operational resilience, outsourcing controls, and whether firms maintain enough real presence and functioning capacity within the bloc.

ESMA's 2027 work programme outlines its plans to oversee crypto-asset rules across the EU, with a focus on harmonizing CASPs' periodic reporting, developing common risk indicators, and creating supervisory dashboards.

The regulator also intends to strengthen coordination among national regulators and align supervisory practices across EU member states. ESMA's emphasis on convergence is aimed at limiting variation in compliance requirements, reporting expectations, and enforcement outcomes.